WILL THE REAL PHANTOM PLEASE STAND UP
by Rackuhn
Summary: Strange things start to happen at the station after Johnny is severely injured.


WILL THE REAL PHANTOM PLEASE STAND UP

By:Rackuhn

Summary: Strange things start to happen at the station after Johnny is severely injured.

Disclaimer: Don't own them, just like to write about them.

Warning: First time Emergency! Fan fic. Also, not in the medical profession at all so if there are any mistakes with the diagnosis and treatments, please forgive me. Just winging it there.

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It was a beautiful L.A. Spring morning. The air was clear, birds were singing, puffy white clouds were floating by lazily, and the A-shift of Station 51 was gathered around the kitchen table having coffee after finishing their chores, having one of their "usual" conversations, usual for them at least.

"I'm tellin' ya, it's true," cried out Fireman Chet Kelly, arms flailing to emphasize his point. "Grandma Kelly would always tell us stories about stuff like this. It used to drive Mom nuts. Every time Grandma would tell us one of these stories, us kids would be scared for a week."

"Ah, come off it Chet. You expect us to believe something like that from you?" asked the dark haired, Fireman/Paramedic Johnny Gage. "People comin' back from the dead to 'warn' you of impending danger? I don't think so."

"You shouldn't be so skeptical, Gage," warned Chet. "Grandma told us hundreds of these of stories. In fact, one of the stories was about her brother. He was working in a factory back in the 'Old Country'. He was walking to work one day when out of the blue an old buddy came up to him. His buddy told him not to go to work that day, that something bad was gonna happen."

"So what's so strange about that?" asked Chet's best friend, Fireman Marco Lopez.

"What's so strange is that this 'buddy' had been dead for five years!" answered Chet.

"This Great Uncle of yours didn't happen to drink a lot, did he?" asked Johnny.

"Oh, ha ha, Gage. Great Uncle Dan never drank before 3:00 in the afternoon, AFTER he was done working," replied Chet.

"Yeah, but when did he stop?" Johnny asked egging Chet on.

Chet just scowled at him. "So what happened?" asked Johnny's paramedic partner Roy DeSoto.

"What happened where?" Chet asked looking quizzically at Roy forgetting what he was talking about because of Johnny.

"What happened that day that your Great Uncle saw his buddy?"

"Oh, that!" cried out Chet. "Just before Great Uncle Dan would have normally gotten to work, the factory exploded. It seems that an old steam furnace blew, taking the whole factory with it. If my Great Uncle would not have been stopped by his old, 'dead' friend, he would have been killed too!"

"I don't know, Chet. That sounds pretty hard to believe," said the usually quiet Fireman/Specialist Mike Stoker.

"What's so hard to believe? Things like that happen all the time."

"Has it ever happened to you?" Captain Hank Stanley asked of his fuzzy fireman.

Hesitantly, Chet replied, "Well, not to me personally but Grandma said it happened to a lot of her old friends."

"Old as in 'senile'?" quipped Johnny, enjoying the fact that his remarks were really starting to get to Chet.

"NO!" stated Chet angrily. "Listen, if Grandma Kelly said something like that happened, then it happened. You never argue with Grandma Kelly. Man, I remember listening to her stories all day long. She really knew how to tell a great story too. Why do you think I like all those old horror flicks about ghosts and stuff?"

"Well that does explain a lot of the things you watch," stated Cap sarcastically. "Is she the one that got the 'Phantom' started too?

"Oh no, the Phantom existed long before my Grandma Kelly. In fact, the Phantom has worked with generations of the Kelly clan, causing great joy for thousands of people, and great angst for hundreds of unsuspecting _Pigeons_", stated Chet while looking directly at Johnny.

"With Johnny being the best Pigeon ever, right Chet?" asked Mike.

"Oh yeah!" Chet smiled dreamily. "You just never know when the Phantom is gonna strike next."

"Speaking of striking, did you happen to remove the trap from the kitchen cupboard yet?" Cap asked with the voice like a father reprimanding his child.

"Yeah, Johnny's running out of dry uniforms," replied Marco.

"Oh, that. I'll get on that right away, Cap." Chet stated while slinking away to retrieve the screwdriver needed to remove his latest contraption.

Just as he was on his way, the tones sounded. STATION 51, STATION 10, BATTALION 14, STRUCTURE FIRE, 1181 WEST STARBOARD AVENUE, 1-1-8-1 WEST STARBOARD AVENUE, CROSS STREET, LINCOLN. TIME OUT 1003.

Everyone jumped up from his seat. Johnny and Roy heading for the squad, Mike, Marco, and Chet heading for the engine. Cap ran over to the mic under the loudspeaker, wrote down the address, then acknowledge the call, "Station 51, 10-4, KMG-365." After handing a copy of the address to Roy in the squad, he ran over to the engine hopping in beside Mike. The squad and the engine roared to life, lights flashing, sirens screaming, horns blowing. Turning onto the street with the squad leading the engine, they took off to fight their latest battle.

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Station 51 arrived first at the scene, with Mike stopping the engine long enough for Chet and Marco to jump off to pull and connect the feed line to the fire hydrant. Once they had jumped back on, Mike quickly pulled the engine up along the burning building just behind the squad. Roy and Johnny had already jumped out of the squad, pulling open the compartment doors to retrieve their turnouts. They then ran up to Cap for further instructions, all looking to see that a three story abandoned warehouse was fully engulfed,

Officer Vince Howard soon stood beside Cap and briefed him on the situation. "Looks like we had about five kids camping out in there. They decided to start a campfire, which quickly got out of control. Fortunately, they all got out before the fire took off."

"Any signs of anybody else being in the building?" asked the concerned Cap.

"Not that we know of. But I don't think any of your guys could get in there to look now anyway," replied Vince.

"I think your right on that one. This building is over 50-years old, mostly wood, brick and mortar construction, which is probably dryer than a desert."

Cap then started barking orders for his men. "Chet, Marco, grab a two and half and take the east side of the building. Johnny, Roy, grab another two and half and take the west side." The men quickly did as they were told and headed to their destinations with Mike waiting patiently at the engine to charge the hoses. The other companies started arriving on scene and Cap quickly dispersed them to help battle the beast. Cap got back on line with dispatch. "LA this Engine 51. We need a second and third alarm to this location. Building is fully engage."

"Engine 51, 10/4," the HT squawked the acknowledgement and the tones sounded out for the other departments.

Chet and Marco were trying desperately to gain the advantage of the fire on their side of the building. Flames kept shooting out of the boarded up widows, teasing them to try and win. Johnny and Roy's luck was not much better. The flames were only gaining speed as they continued to climb up the walls of the warehouse.

"This doesn't look good," cried out Johnny as he yelled over his shoulder to Roy.

"I know. We better not get too close, the walls look like they are starting to buckle," Roy shouted over the noise of the flames.

Cap was standing by the engine watching what was going on when the Chief arrived to take over. Quickly Cap filled the Chief in on the situation. Johnny and Roy were still trying to get an edge over the fire at their location but finding it very difficult to get any closer. The hairs on the back of Johnny's neck stood up. Glancing around at the building, Johnny tried to find what was alerting his senses. Looking up, he noticed that the wall was more than buckling; it was bowed way past the point of safety. Johnny dropped the hose and pushed Roy out of the way as hard as he could as pieces of the wall rained down over him. Roy lay there stunned for a moment and then realizing what had happened, quickly got to his feet. Looking around, he could not find his partner, knowing that Johnny was buried under a large pile of brick and mortar. With fear welling up in his heart, Roy grabbed the HT that was in his pocket.

"HT51 to Engine 51. I need help at my location. Johnny's buried under a collapsed wall!"

Fear came over the Cap when he heard Roy's voice over the HT. "Engine 51 to HT51, help's on the way Roy."

The Chief having over heard the conversation quickly called up any available man to go help with Johnny's rescue. Chet turned off the hose and he and Marco quickly ran to find Roy digging through a large mound of fallen debris.

"Johnny!" cried out Roy every few moments, stopping just long enough to listen for his fallen comrade.

Cap and Mike soon made their way over and also started heaving bricks off of their friend. Together with several other firemen, the mound started to dwindle.

"Over here!" shouted Marco. "I've found his foot!"

With his foot located, the others quickly started working on removing the rest of the debris from off of Johnny. Roy grabbed Johnny's foot and removed his boot and sock, desperately trying to locate a pulse in his ankle. Roy heaved a large sigh when he felt one, but was still concerned when he noticed the pulse was weak and thready.

Having also been on the scene, Paramedics Dave Johnson and Phil Cohen from 10's came over with the equipment that they would need to use to treat Johnny. Once enough of the material was removed from off of Johnny, they along with Roy, started to treated him. Roy expertly ran an eye over Johnny checking him for obvious signs of trauma. Noticing first off the blood coming from the side of Johnny's head, he quickly reached for a 4 x 4 to try and stop the bleeding. Dave shined his flashlight into Johnny's eyes and began to take his vitals while Phil noted them down on the form and opened the Bio-phone to contact Rampart.

Dave starting running his hands down Johnny's torso and limbs to check for any broken bones. "He's got a head laceration, probable concussion with the right eye sluggish and the left eye unresponsive, broken left ulna, possible cracked or broken ribs, with slightly diminished breath sounds on the left. Various cuts and contusions over his entire body."

"Rampart, this Squad 10, how do you read?" asked Phil.

"Go ahead, Squad 10," came Dr. Joe Early's voice over the Bio-phone.

"Rampart, we have a Paramedic/Fireman who has been injured due to a wall collapse. He has a head laceration with a probable concussion with the right eye being sluggish and the left pupil blown. He also has a broken left ulna, possible cracked or broken ribs, with slightly diminished breath sounds on the left. He has various cuts and contusions over his entire body. B/P is 108/72, pulse is 110, and respirations are 24."

"Squad 10, does the patient respond to stimuli?" asked Dr. Early.

Dave looked worriedly at Roy when he ran his knuckles over Johnny's sternum and did not get any response. He shook his head at Phil.

"Rampart, patient does not respond to verbal or physical stimuli," announced Phil.

"Squad 10, start an IV with Ringers Lactate and start him on 6 liters of oxygen. Take full spinal precautions and immobilize the left arm. On the head injury, apply a pressure bandage and transport in a 20-degree angle to reduce any possible swelling in the cranium. Transport immediately."

Phil repeated the instructions as given and signed off with Rampart.

Roy, Phil, and Dave quickly got Johnny onto a backboard, with a C-collar wrapped around his neck. His arm was quickly immobilized, and a pressure bandage applied to the head injury. Roy was getting worried as time went on and Johnny still did not respond to what was happening to him.

"How is he, Roy?" Cap asked as they were loading Johnny onto the stretcher.

Roy looked at his Captain and the rest of the crew, each seeing the fear in his eyes. "He's not looking too good right now, Cap. It looks like his head injury is pretty bad; the falling debris hit him hard enough to crack his helmet. If you don't mind, I'm going in with him."

"You go right ahead, Pal. I'll have one of the other guys drive the squad over to Rampart when they can and the rest of us will meet you there. Keep us informed."

"Right Cap." Roy quickly jumped into the back of the ambulance with Phil, while Cap shut the doors giving them the customary two thumps with his hand. Cap and the rest of the crew just stared as the ambulance pulled away.

Chet was the first to break the silence. "I don't know guys. Johnny didn't look too good."

"He'll be alright. He always is," responded Mike.

"Yeah that's right. Johnny's tough. He'll make it," commented Marco while he started fingering a set of rosary beads in his pocket.

"Let's get back to work. We need to finish beating this fire, then we can get to Rampart to check up on John," stated Cap. Reluctantly, all the men returned back to work.

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The years of training kicked in for Roy as he automatically performed the functions needed to try and save his partner. After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance finally backed up into the hospital bay. The doors of the ambulance opened to show Dr. Early and Dr. Kelly Brackett, along with Dixie and two orderlies, waiting to receive their latest patient. They all paused momentarily when they saw it was Johnny being unloaded from the ambulance.

"Treatment Room 1," cried out Dixie, as they quickly escorted him into the hospital and transferred him to the exam table. Phil updated Drs. Early and Brackett on Johnny's condition while they started their examination. Once he was done, Phil looked up at Roy and seeing the distress in his face, gently pulled him out of the room. "Come on, Roy, there's not much we can do here. Let's get some coffee." Roy reluctantly left with Phil.

"Let's get a CBC, blood gas, and urinalysis. Dix, get X-ray down here stat. We need a full skull series and also get x-rays of his chest and left arm," ordered Joe. Checking Johnny's eyes, he noted that the left pupil still did not respond to light, which caused him to be concern. "Also, let's get an EEG set up. I want to take a look at what's happening. I'm concerned that there may be swelling and intercranial bleeding building up on the left side of his brain. If that's the case, we'll need to get him to the OR. Have one standing by just in case. "

"Right away Joe," Dixie answered as she went over to the phone on the wall to make the necessary arrangements.

"Doctor, his breathing is becoming more labored," stated another nurse.

Dr. Brackett quickly pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Johnny's lungs. "The breath sounds are defiantly diminished on the left side but not that badly and the right lung sounds clear. It might be due to the pressure on his brain that's causing his respiratory distress. Let's prepare to intubate if it gets any worse."

As they continued to work, Johnny's breathing became increasingly labored. They managed to intubate him before the x-ray technician entered the room. Being forced to leave, both doctors went in search of Roy. In the nurses' lounge, Roy was impatiently pacing back and forth, running his hands through his thinning hair. His pacing stopped when the door opened and in walked the Doctors.

"Doc, how's he doing?" Roy asked pleadingly.

Dr. Early took Roy by the arm and had him sit down at the table. "All we can tell you for sure is that he is in pretty bad shape. He has a serious head injury with a possible skull fracture. It looks like there may be some swelling or intercranial bleeding building up on his brain, which in turn is interfering with his breathing. We had to intubate him in order to keep his oxygen levels up."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Right now were not sure. We're waiting on his test results and x-rays and we're going to run an EEG to see what is going on in that head of his. There's a good possibility that he is going to need surgery to reduce the bleeding and hopefully this will reduce the pressure on his brain and help his breathing. The arm looks like it's just a simple fracture, which we can set after his surgery, and it feels like he has a few cracked ribs with a possible bruised lung. We'll know more when the x-rays come back."

"Can I go see him?" Roy pleaded once again.

"Just for a minute. We'll check his x-rays, then we have to send him for his EEG and surgery," Joe replied.

Roy got up and followed Dr. Early and Dr. Brackett back to the treatment room. As he entered, he looked at his partner lying on the exam table. He was pale in appearance compared to how he normally looks. The pressure bandage had been replaced with another one, still hiding the laceration on the left side of his head. Roy walked up and took Johnny's good hand in his.

"Boy Junior, you sure know how to scare a guy. You just do what the doc's tell you to and you'll be just fine. And make sure you get well fast. Work just won't be the same without you. Oh, and if I get stuck with Brice, you will definitely owe me one."

Roy looked up as Dr. Brackett came and stood by him. "It's time Roy. We need to get him upstairs. Don't worry, Joe will do everything he possibly can for him."

Roy just nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. He gave Johnny's hand a quick squeeze and turned to leave just as the orderlies entered to transfer Johnny.

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Johnny felt very strange at the moment. He couldn't quite place the feeling except that it was unusual. He tried to get his mind to focus on what was happening, but it was very difficult.

"_Hmmm, why do I feel this way? It feels like…like I'm floating. Yeah, that's it, I'm floating, but I don't feel any water. I'm not swimming."_ Finally his senses started to return. He could hear someone shouting orders.

"…get X-ray down here stat…," "…EEG set up…," "…prepare to intubate…"

Finally everything came into focus. He was shocked to see what was in front of him_. "Oh God, no! That's…that's me on that table! I can't be dead…I'm…I'm too young! Roy! What's going on? Roy, where are you_?" He turned around desperately looking to find his partner.

"_Dr. Brackett, what's going on?"_ Johnny asked as he stood behind the man. Johnny's anger started to build when Dr. Bracket didn't seem to hear him_. "Oh come on Doc, this isn't funny!"_ Johnny quickly went behind Dr. Early desperately trying to get his attention_. "Doc, you got to help me! Doc!" _Johnny tried to turn Dr. Early around; his hand passed right through_. "Oh man. I think I'm going to be sick,"_ Johnny thought. _"This can't be happening!"_

"_Don't worry. It's not what you think,"_ said a familiar voice. Johnny looked around to find the owner of that voice. As he did he was shocked even more.

"_Grandfather?"_

"_Yes Johnny, it's me,"_ his Grandfather stated.

"_How can it be you? You're dead?" _Johnny asked quizzically. Just then another thought struck him. _"Oh no. I really am dead!"_

"_No, you are not dead,"_ replied his Grandfather.

"_If I'm not dead, than how come I'm here with you? I must be dead."_

"_Look."_ He turned Johnny so that he could see the Doctors working on his body. _"Does that body look dead to you? Do you see the heart monitor? It is showing a steady beat. The body is accepting the oxygen that it is being given. The blood is still coming out of the open wounds. No, my son, you are not dead."_

"_But what's wrong with me?"_ asked Johnny pointing to his body.

"_You were in an accident at a warehouse fire. Part of the building collapsed on you. You were brought here with a broken arm, cracked ribs, and a head injury. Do not be alarmed though, this is only temporary." _

Johnny saw the X-ray technician had arrived and the Doctors had left. He watched as the technician took the necessary x-rays and then also turned to leave.

Johnny looked back at his Grandfather and asked _"But if I'm not dead, then what am I doing here?"_

Grandfather looked at Johnny. _"You have been chosen to perform a special, shall we say, 'rescue'."_

"_What kind of rescue? How can I perform a rescue like this?"_ Johnny asked, again pointing to his body lying on the table.

"_This rescue does not involve your physical body, but your spiritual. Come. There is much to learn in a short period of time."_

They were just about to leave when Johnny saw Roy and Drs. Early and Brackett enter the room. _"Wait!"_ Johnny begged. He went and stood by Roy. "Boy Junior, you sure know how to scare a guy. You just do what the doc's tell you to and you'll be just fine. And make sure you get well fast. Work just won't be the same without you. Oh, and if I get stuck with Brice, you will definitely owe me one."

Johnny started to laugh at Roy's last comment when Dr. Brackett came over. "It's time Roy. We need to get him upstairs. Don't worry, Joe will do everything he possibly can for him."

Seeing Roy nod, Johnny quickly tried to get his friend's attention. _"Roy! I'm right here. Can't you see me? Oh Roy, don't worry, everything will be okay…I…I think."_ He sighed as he watched a very downcast Roy walk away, desperately wanting to go after him.

Grandfather came up beside Johnny. _"Come Johnny. It's time for you to learn the skills that you will need to perform your 'rescue'." _Johnny nodded his head as he watched the door close behind Roy.

They both vanished as the orderlies carefully transferred Johnny's body to a gurney and took him upstairs to surgery.

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It was about two hours later that the rest of Station 51 entered the hospital. They quickly went to the doctor's lounge and found Roy sitting there on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"Roy, how's he doing?" Cap asked before the rest could say anything.

Roy quickly explained what was going on and that Johnny was still in surgery. Just as Roy finished explaining, the door of the lounge opened and in entered a tired looking Dr. Early. Looking around the room, he saw the faces of five very concerned men. Joe held his hands up before anyone could speak.

"Before you ask anything, let me tell you what's going on. Johnny does have a skull fracture, which in turn, caused an intercranial bleed. We had to operate to remove the excess blood from off his brain. A shunt was put in to help drain any excess fluid. As hoped, with the removal of the pressure on his brain, his breathing has improved. However, because of the type of head injury that he sustained, Johnny is now in a coma."

"How long before he will come out of it?" asked Chet worriedly.

"Well Chet, that's just it. We're not sure," sighed Joe. "The EEG that was performed on him showed minimal brain activity. It's enough to sustain life, but not enough for him to wake up."

"But he will come out of it, right Doc?" Marco questioned.

"We just don't know. He may be like this for a few days, weeks, months, or he may never wake up. We're going to give him a few hours, then we are going to run another EEG to see if there is any improvement."

"Can I see him Doc?" Roy asked.

"Not at the moment. They were setting his arm when I left the OR and then he'll be in recovery for a little while. After that we're going to take him to the ICU. Once we get him settle there, then you will be able to check up on him."

"Thanks for everything that you are doing for John, Doc," stated Captain Stanley as he shook Dr. Early's hand. With that the doctor left the room.

Knowing that his next few words were going to eat at Roy, Cap quickly told him that everyone must go back to the station and that Johnny's replacement would be there waiting for them. Roy wanted to argue the point, but the look on Cap's face told him that even though he understood what he was going through, he was still needed back at the station. Roy went and found Dixie and asked her to call if anything changed.

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Johnny and his Grandfather suddenly 'appear' in a very empty Station 51. _"How did we get here?"_ asked Johnny while he turned around to view the familiar surroundings.

"_This is where you begin your training,"_ replied Grandfather.

"_Training? What kind of training?"_

"_Remember in the hospital, I told you that you have been selected to perform a 'rescue'? I must teach you the things that you will need to perform this task,"_ Grandfather stated as he walked into the kitchen area.

"_Yeah I remember. But who am I suppose to rescue and when and how am I suppose to perform this rescue?"_

"_I can't answer that question for you,"_ his Grandfather said.

"_Why not? You've gotta know,"_ Johnny cried out.

His Grandfather turned to him and said, _"No I don't know whom it is you are to rescue and I don't know when and how. Nobody knows."_

"_But wouldn't it be better if I did know maybe I could do something to stop it before it happens,"_ answered Johnny in his own logical way.

"_That is exactly the reason why you mustn't know."_

Johnny stared at his Grandfather quizzically. _"If we change events the results could be far more disastrous._

"_This is all too confusing. How can I protect somebody when I don't even know what's gonna happen?"_

"_Just have faith Johnny. It will all work out and you will know what to do when the time comes. Now I need to teach you some of the basics that you will need so that you can perform your duty."_

As he was following his Grandfather, he came to an abrupt halt when a thought suddenly occurred to him. _"Oh no! It can't be,"_ he exclaimed.

Grandfather turned around to look at him. _"What can't be?"_ he asked.

"_I can't believe it. Chet was right."_

"_Right about what?"_

"_He was telling us stories about how his Great Uncle's friend came back to warn him about going to work and that he was in danger." _Grandfather smiled at Johnny_. "Huh, Chet was right, how 'bout that. I guess he does know what he's talking about once in a while." _Johnny just stood there with puzzlement written all over his face. _"I just can't believe it."_

"_Believe it son. Come on now. We have work to do."_

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Mike backed the engine into the bay and shut it down while Roy backed the squad in along side 'Big Red'. Wearily, everyone jumped out of their vehicles and headed to the kitchen. Much to Roy's dismay, Craig Brice, known as 'Paramedic Perfect', stood there waiting for their arrival.

"Oh Johnny, you definitely owe me one," thought Roy to himself.

"Captain. Men. DeSoto. Any word on Gage yet?" asked Brice.

"He's in ICU in a coma. Dixie is suppose to call if anything changes," replied Roy.

"That is too bad. Gage is a very competent paramedic. I would hate to see anything happen to him."

Cap place a hand on Roy's shoulder giving him the signal not to do anything drastic against Brice, yet.

"If you do not mind Captain Stanley, I will be inventorying and organizing the drug box," stated Brice bluntly as he walk out of the kitchen.

"Just what we needed today, Mr. Laugh-A-Minute," complained Chet.

"At least he's not out there organizing your equipment," stated Roy.

"Not yet a least," Mike commented.

"Well he at least did one thing right," Cap stated. "He made a fresh pot of coffee." Cap sauntered over to the cupboard to pull out a clean cup. Just as he pulled the door open, a loud 'sproing' noise was heard. "KELLY!" a very angry and a very wet Captain screamed through gritted teeth.

"CAP!" I swear it wasn't me, honest!" Chet shouted.

Cap slowly turned around to face Chet. "Chet you twit, I will give you till the time I change into a dry shirt to have that thing removed from the premises. If it is not gone by the time I get back, you will have latrine duty for the rest of your career." Cap then turned and headed to the dorm to change.

"Wow Chet. I don't think that was a good idea leaving that set like that," Marco stated, trying to hold back a giggle.

"Yeah Chet, I think that Cap is going to hold you to that promise of latrine duty," chuckled Mike.

"But I didn't do it!" confessed Chet. "It was empty after it hit Johnny this morning. It had to have been Brice. He was the only here that had time enough to fill it."

"You don't think that the Cap is going to believe he did it, do you?" questioned Roy.

"All I know is that I better get that thing out of here, like yesterday," groaned Chet. He quickly ran off to find the tools that he used to install the trap.

"Boy, it's too bad Johnny wasn't here to see that. He would have loved to have seen the expression on Caps face," Mike stated as he went to clean up the spilt water.

"Yeah, Johnny would have loved to have seen that. Too bad we didn't have a camera," agreed Marco as he went to get a mop.

The smile on Roy's face faded as he thought about his partner.

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"_Oh man. That was beautiful! I couldn't have asked for anything better. Well maybe seeing the water bomb hit Chet or Brice in the face, but that was just as good,"_ cheered Johnny as he spun and clapped his hands together. Eyeing the expression on his Grandfather's face, his joy suddenly turned to apprehension and cleared his throat. _"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea?"_ questioned Johnny.

Johnny watched as his Grandfather's expression went from sullen to smiling, which told Johnny that he too enjoyed what he saw. _"Normally we don't allow that sort of thing, but since this is a special case and I had to teach you quickly how to do hold onto things, this type of 'motivation' is allowed,"_ laughed Grandfather. _"Now let's get busy again."_

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Later on in the afternoon, while the squad was on a run, Mike passed Chet as he headed out to the bay. The tune that he was whistling came to an abrupt halt when he spied the engine. Dozens of handprints were scattered along the side of the normally highly polished engine. Chet was in the kitchen when he heard Mike scream his name. Cap, Marco, and Chet all went running to find an irate engineer furiously rubbing the side of the rig and Mike mumbling under his breath what he was going to do to Chet.

"What's going on," asked Cap.

Mike turned around and glared at the stocky fireman. Quickly he walked over to Chet, leaning over to yell in his face. "What's the big idea of messing up my engine?" screamed Mike. Cap and Marco quickly pulled the fuming Engineer away before he did something to hurt Chet.

Chet just looked at Mike like he had sprouted two heads. "I didn't do anything, man, " he replied looking back and forth from Cap and Marco, trying to plead his case.

"Don't tell me you didn't do anything. Look at my engine. You put your handprints all over it," cried out Mike.

"Hold on Mike," said the Cap trying to calm down his normally quiet Engineer. "I hope for your sake Chet, that you didn't do this."

"Honestly Cap, I didn't do it." He walked over to the engine and placed his hand up against one of the prints. "See, I couldn't have done it. That hand print is bigger than mine."

"If I find out who did do this…" Mike threatened.

"Easy Mike. We know that none of us did it. It was probably some kids playing a prank. But I'm sure Chet is more than willing to help ya out though. Right Chet?"

"Oh but Cap…" Chet whined, stopping quickly knowing that this was the first installment of repayment from the Cap for the water bomb in the kitchen cupboard. "Uh sure thing Cap. No problem." He quickly went to the closet to grab a rag and started polishing the engine. He never took his eyes off of Mike, since he was still mumbling under his breath what he would do if he ever caught the person who did this.

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"_Wow! I've never seen Mike so mad before. I sure am glad I never did that when I was…you know."_ John stated as he watch Mike and Chet re-polish the engine.

"_Don't worry. I know for a fact that whenever you thought of doing that, your protector stopped you," _Grandfather grinned. _"And he will continue to stop you when you think about it in the future too."_

Just then the squad pulled back into the station. A very upset Craig Brice jumped out of the squad and quickly pulled out the drug box.

"I can't believe that you reorganized the drug box after I did earlier," complained Brice.

"And I'm telling you that I never touched the drug box. I never went near it until this last run," cried out a very frustrated Roy.

"I suppose you're not the one who unlock the compartments either? Regulations specifically state that they are to remain locked at all times."

"Now how was I to have unlocked the squad's compartments while you have the key?" demanded Roy.

"_Did you reorganize that box Johnny?" _asked Grandfather.

Johnny just stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat. _"Yup."_

"_And the squad compartments?"_

"_Yup. Just trying to help out Roy. Brice always reorganizes the drug box and then no one else can use it,"_ Johnny replied innocently.

Grandfather just shook his head.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on here?" asked Cap coming out of his office.

"Brice here is accusing me of reorganizing the drug box behind his back," complained Roy.

"The time needed to find the proper medications was greatly increased because HE decided to change the drug box around," whined Brice.

"And I'm telling you I did not touch it. And another thing, no time was wasted because everything was WHERE it should be in the box."

"So you DO admit to reorganizing it?" accused Brice.

"For the last time, I DID NOT touch the drug box until that last run," Roy screamed. Maybe YOU didn't organize it the way you thought you did." Roy charged, getting into Brice's face.

"Now that's enough both of you. I don't want to hear anymore about this. Do I make myself clear," demanded Cap.

"Yes Sir," replied Roy and Brice in unison.

"Brice you go fix the drug box. Roy you go call Rampart and see how John is doing. This has been a bad enough day as it is. I don't want to hear a peep from anyone!" Everyone watched as the Cap stormed off to his office mumbling about having to work with a bunch of twits.

"_So Grandfather what's next?"_ asked Johnny.

"_Depends on what you have in mind,"_ replied Grandfather.

"_Oh, I've got a couple of ideas in mind, but I think I would like another crack at that drug box when Brice is done."_

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

Shortly after their return to the station, Roy and Brice received another call for a man down. Quickly they headed out to the squad and were on their way. Five minutes later they pulled up to a single story ranch where an extremely agitated woman met them. Johnny and his Grandfather also appeared there as well.

"_What are we doing here?" asked Johnny._

"_I don't know, but I assume we will find out shortly," replied Grandfather._

"Oh, please hurry. It's Ralph and he's fallen down and hurt himself," the woman cried out as she grabbed at Brice's arm and started to pull him to the garage.

"Take it easy, Ms.," asked Brice.

"Mrs. Tomey. Laura Tomey. My husband Ralph is hurt. Please hurry."

"Alright Mrs. Tomey. Can you tell us what happened?" Roy questioned while trying to calm her down.

"In here." She led them to the garage, where they found Mr. Tomey lying on the floor holding his leg and groaning in pain. "He was trying to reach the highest shelf, but instead of a latter he used the bottom shelf as a step. Then he fell," Mrs. Tomey answered.

"Where do you hurt Mr. Tomey, questioned Roy as Brice started taking his vitals.

"Oh I hurt my ankle when the shelf gave way. I didn't fall very far, but I think I twisted it pretty good. Mr. Tomey winced in pain as Roy palpated the right ankle.

"It doesn't appear to be broken, probably a bad sprain, but we'll take you to the hospital so that they can check it out," commented Roy as he finished checking it. "Brice call Rampart while I splint it."

Brice contacted Rampart and gave them Mr. Tomey's vitals. Following the Doctor's orders, an IV was set up to administer the pain medication and Mr. Tomey was placed on the stretcher.

"You can go with your husband in the ambulance if you would like but you will have to ride up front," stated Brice bluntly to Mrs. Tomey.

"No that's all right, I'll follow it in. We'll need a way to get home later," she commented.

"I'll ride in and meet you at Rampart," Roy told Brice.

Mr. Tomey and Roy got into the ambulance while Mrs. Tomey followed in her car. Brice stayed behind to clean up the debris that was left from the treatment.

"_Wait a minute, where's Roy going. Aren't I suppose to be protecting Roy?"_ asked Johnny in a somewhat panicked mode.

Grandfather just stood there watching Johnny.

"_Why didn't I go with Roy? I'm supposed to be protecting him, right?_ Johnny asked again turning to look at Brice. _"Oh no, I'm suppose to protect Brice?"_

Brice had his back to the shelving unit that Mr. Tomey had climbed up on. If he were facing it he would have noticed that the unit had become unstable and was listing forward, very close to falling on top of him. Johnny, however, did notice that the unit was starting to topple and with out thinking yelled at Brice's to look out and managed to push him out of the way just as the unit fell.

Brice looked up when he thought he heard his name and then felt two hands push him roughly to the ground where he landed about three feet from where he was previously. As he skidded to a stop on his chin, he heard a loud crash come from the direction of where he just was. When he looked, he noticed that the shelving unit had fallen on the exact spot where he was kneeling, just missing the squad's equipment. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked around to see who had pushed him, but did not see anyone else in the garage. Looking at the shelving unit, he noticed how heavy it was and that the contents of the shelves were mostly old torn apart engine parts. He quickly got back on his feet, grabbed the leftover supplies and went out to the squad. After putting away the equipment, he then drove off to Rampart.

"_Oh man, I can't believe that my special assignment was to rescue Brice," _complained Johnny.

"_It appears that your assignment isn't over yet," _commented Grandfather.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_It looks like you still have some more work to do. Otherwise you would have been sent back by now,"_ reported Grandfather.

"_You mean I have to rescue Craig Brice again?"_

"_I mean that you still have work to do. Whether or not it is Brice you are to protect is not known at this time. But I am sure that we will find out soon."_

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

Roy was walking back to nurse's station to ask Dixie about Johnny when Brice appeared. Roy had to do a double take when he saw his face.

"What happened to you?" Roy asked as he went and grabbed Brice's face.

Brice quickly pulled away from Roy's grasp and said, "What? Oh, my chin. I…something sort of happened in the garage after you left in the ambulance."

"What kind of something?" Dixie asked.

"It was the strangest thing. I was at the scene cleaning up the trash that was left behind, when I heard somebody yell my name. Before I had a chance to respond, I felt myself being pushed hard and I went flying and landed on my face about three feet from where I was just kneeling. That's when I heard a crash and looked to find that the shelving unit that Mr. Tomey fell from had toppled over and landed on the exact spot that I was kneeling at."

"Are you sure you are okay?" asked a concerned Dixie as shivers ran up her back.

"Yes, I am fine Ms. McCall. But I will tell you that this incident has left me a bit shaken. Those shelves were full of old engine parts, some of them quite large in fact. I could have been killed if I hadn't been pushed…" Brice looked back and forth at both Roy and Dixie, blanching slightly at recalling what had happened.

"Wow, that is weird," commented Roy. "But you're sure you are okay? You don't need one of the Doc's to look at you do you?"

"No I am fine." Brice replied, and then looked at Roy. "This may sound strange, but I could swear that the voice I heard yell my name before the unit fell was Gage's."

Roy and Dixie both looked at him. "If I heard this from anyone else but you Craig, I would have said that they were crazy or making it up," commented Dixie.

Just then, Roy's stomach started to flip. "Ah, I'm going to go upstairs and check on Johnny for a minute. Do you mind?"

"You go right ahead Roy. I'm going to take Craig into one of the treatment rooms and clean up that cut on his chin," ordered Dixie as she grabbed Brice by the arm. Roy didn't even wait for her to finish as he took off for the elevator.

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

Roy stopped just outside of Johnny's room. He took a deep breath and then entered. He quickly walked up to the bed and saw his partner lying there with a large bandage wrapped around his head and various IV's in both arms. He immediately checked the monitors and saw a strong, steady rhythm on the heart monitor and noticed that Johnny was breathing on his own. Roy let out the breath that he was holding when he saw the slow, rhythmic up and down motions of his chest.

He picked up Johnny's good hand and felt that it was warm. "Boy Junior, you had me scared. The way Brice was talking down there; I thought I had lost you. Come on Junior, it's time to come back home," Roy said, emotion filling his voice.

Just then Dr. Early entered the room and notice Roy standing there. "Hi Roy. How are you doing?" he asked of his friend.

"I'd be better if Johnny would just wake up," said Roy.

Dr. Early picked up Johnny's chart and looked it over. "Well from the looks of his chart he is doing pretty good. Oxygen levels are up, blood pressure and pulse are good, lungs sound clear, and all-in-all I'd say he's just fine."

"Except he has woken up yet," commented Roy dejectedly.

"No, he still is in a coma, but the last EEG we did on him about two hours ago did show some improved brain activity. The cranial pressure had dropped to within more normal levels so I had the shunt removed. He may still be in the coma for a while but at least his brain waves are improving."

"Well at least that's some good news," Roy said with more hope in heart. "He may just beat this yet."

"You know Johnny. Always has to give us Doctors a hard time," complained Dr. Early. "I'll keep you posted if anything changes."

"Thanks Doc." They both left the room and Roy went in search of Brice.

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

The squad backed in and Roy and Brice got out. They both headed to the kitchen and saw that Marco had volunteered to cook dinner since it was Johnny's turn to cook. Having notice the meat already in the refrigerator, Marco decided to make the hamburgers that Johnny would have normally made with it. With the table set and the food prepared, Marco called everyone to come and eat. Each man sat down to prepare his burger, when Chet notice the bandage on Brice's face.

"Hey man, what happened to you? Fall over the regulation book again?" quipped Chet.

Brice gave him a look that told Kelly to back down, but as usual, Chet ignored him.

"Oh come on, you can tell us," begged Chet.

Brice looked at Roy, who shrugged, and then explained the situation that happed at the last run. Everyone sat stunned when Brice told the part of how the voice sounded just like Johnny's and how he 'felt' the hands that had 'pushed' him out of the way of the falling shelf.

"Ya know if that came from anybody else but you, I would have laughed in their face. But that's just too coincidental man," spoke Chet.

"What do you mean?" asked Marco.

"Remember what Gage and I were talking about this morning? About how my Great Uncle was save from being killed by his dead friend?"

"But Johnny's not dead," declared Mike. "He's just in a coma."

"I know that, but how else do you explain it?" Chet asked staring at the other five men.

"I can't explain it, but I do know Johnny is not dead, in fact, Dr. Early told me that his last EEG showed improved brain waves," Roy stated for the rest of the men.

"You mean he is out of his coma?" asked the Cap.

"No, but he's got a better chance of coming out of it," stated Roy.

"Well that's great news. Now let's eat before everything gets cold and we get toned out," ordered Cap.

Everyone once again started preparing his burger when Marco asked Chet to pass the salt. Much to Marco's dismay when he tipped the shaker over, the cap fell off and the salt poured out.

"Chet! What did you do that for?" asked Marco not believing what just happened.

"I didn't do that!" Chet claimed in self-defense.

"You know Chet, your latrine duty just keeps getting longer and longer, Pal," stated an upset Captain.

"I swear Cap, that wasn't me. Somebody is setting me up!" declared Chet.

"And who would want to do that, huh Kelly?" asked Cap.

"Yeah the only one who would even really want to get you would be Johnny and obviously it can't be him," stated Marco as he got up to throw away his hamburger.

"Maybe it was Gage," cried out Chet.

"Oh right. Nice try Chet," declared Marco.

"Well, look what happened to Brice today. Maybe it is Johnny."

"_This just keeps getting better and better,"_ laughed Johnny. _"Chet is getting blamed for everything. I couldn't have planned this better even if I wanted to. There's something to be said about being a real 'phantom'."_

"_Just don't get use to it Johnny. This is only temporary and then you will have to put up with him again,"_ Grandfather stated.

"_Oh don't worry. Hey, do you think I could get help from my Protector when I'm…alive again? Ya know, just get some help to get the 'Phantom',"_ Johnny asked turning to his Grandfather?

"_I don't think I'm allowed to help in those sorts of things,"_ Grandfather replied looking directly at Johnny.

"_You mean you're my protector? Why did you let the Phantom get me all these years?"_ Johnny asked in puzzlement.

"_Hey I have to get some amusement out of this job too. You know, you're not an easy person to protect. You're always getting into some kind of trouble. Besides, you never asked,"_ Grandfather grinned back. _"But if you would like, I'll help you, but only a couple of times. Okay?"_

Johnny's grin widened. _"Okay!"_

Johnny and Grandfather headed over to the couch where Henry the basset hound was. Much to the surprise of Johnny, Henry jumped down off of the couch and waddle over to sit by his feet. He then sat up begging, barking at Johnny, and wagging his tail. The rest of the crew looked over at Henry, seeing him happily begging, barking and wagging.

"Hey what's with Henry?" Marco asked. "He sure is acting strange."

"I don't think I've ever seen him that happy, let along move that much," Mike added.

"_Hey! Henry can see me. I didn't know that would happen. Hey Henry, how are ya doing boy?"_ Johnny playfully talked to the dog.

"_You should know. Remember what I taught you when you were little? Animals are very perceptive at seeing things that humans don't,"_ stated Grandfather.

"_Do you think I could show myself to the guys,"_ Johnny asked with the wheels spinning in his head.

"_Now that you mention it that is another thing that I must teach you. No time like the present. Come on."_

Johnny followed his Grandfather out the kitchen door and headed to the dorm. Henry made it as far as the door but was stopped when the door remained closed. So he sat down barking at the door.

"Now look at him, he's just sitting by the door barking. Hey Henry, come here boy," called Chet.

"Why don't you go let him out Chet since you are in charge of latrine duty for quite awhile," commanded Cap.

Chet was about to make a comment, but thought better of it. 'Don't need to add more to what I already have. I can't believe this is happening to me. Why is all of this happening and everyone blaming me for it,' thought Chet to himself.

He quickly got up and grabbed Henry's leash. He went to bend down to put the leash on, when he accidentally bumped the swinging door open just enough for Henry to sneak out. That was all that Henry needed. He took off to find Johnny.

"Hey where you going you dumb dog?" Chet cried out as he went to chase him.

Henry immediately ran to the dorm door and sat down barking at it. Chet came over and put the leash on Henry and tried to pull him away to take him outside. Henry would not budge; he wanted to go through the dorm door.

"Come on Henry. You have to go outside, Cap's orders," Chet commanded. Henry didn't listen. He just sat there and barked at the door.

"What is in there that you want?" he asked. Chet then opened the door and Henry took off again, coming to a stop in front of Johnny's bunk.

"Johnny's not here man. He's in the hospital again. You should be use to that," stated Chet to Henry. But Henry just sat at the foot of Johnny's bunk, wagging his tail happily.

"Now come on. I want to finish my dinner," he complained yet again as he tried to pull Henry away.

"_Chet, maybe he doesn't want to go outside,"_ Chet heard a voice say.

Chet stopped in his tracks and looked around. His mouth dropped open wide when he saw Johnny sitting on the edge of his bunk happily scratching Henry's head. Johnny's lopsided grin formed as he spoke again, _"He seems pretty happy to be here with me."_

When they heard Chet's scream, the rest of the crew came running out of the kitchen and straight into a very scared Chet Kelly. He was breathing so fast that Roy though he was going to hyperventilate. They immediately sat him down on the floor.

After a few moments Cap finally asked, "What is going on Chet? You came running out of the dorm like you saw a ghost or something."

"I…I think I did," gasped Chet, still trying to get his breath.

Roy and Brice started checking him over to see if there was anything medically wrong with him.

"His pulse is at 120," Roy stated.

"Respirations are at 30. Kelly you must slow your breathing down or you will pass out," Brice commanded.

"What exactly did you think you saw in there?" Cap asked the panicked fireman.

"Joh...Johnny. I saw Johnny in there talking to Henry," Chet stuttered. "Really Cap I did."

Everyone looked at Chet, seeing how badly shaken he was. "Okay, just calm down and tell us what happened," Cap asked again.

"I…I followed Henry out here to the dorm room. When he wouldn't come with me to go outside, I opened the door to the dorm. He ran inside and sat down right in front Johnny's bunk. I tried to pull him outside again, when I heard a voice say that hedoesn't want to go outside. When I looked around to see who was talking to me, I saw Johnny sitting on his bunk scratching Henry's head. Then he told me that Henry was pretty happy where he was." Chet was talking so fast that the rest had a hard time keeping up with him.

Chet looked around at the rest of the crew, who were all trying to figure out if this was another of the Phantom's elaborate pranks.

Mike then got up and headed over to the dorm door. As soon has he pushed it open, out walked Henry, leash and all. Henry then sat by the door to go outside, looking over to the group to see who would take him out. Mike stuck in head into the dorm room, but did not see anything. He quickly turned and left and shrugged his shoulders when he came back to the group. "Nothing in there, Cap."

Cap looked at Roy and Brice. "What do you think?"

"Something must have scared him. His pulse and respiration were quite high. He wasn't gone lone enough to get worked up like that on his own," Roy stated with confused expression on his face.

"Alright then. Kelly are you okay to work or do you want to go home?" Cap asked sincerely.

"No, I'll be alright Cap," Chet said sullenly as he got off of the floor. "Just kinda spooked, that's all."

"Maybe there is something to this Johnny thing after all," commented Marco. "First Brice, then Henry acting strangely, now Chet."

"Now don't you start. I know we are all worried about Johnny but everything is going to be alright," Cap said looking at each of his men. Although he tried to believe what he just said, Marco's comment still remained in the back of his mind. 'Something definitely strange is going on,' Cap thought to himself.

Everyone, but Mike who went to let Henry out, went back to the kitchen to finish his supper. They all ate quietly, contemplating what had just happened and Chet constantly looking over his shoulder.

"_Wow, I never thought Chet would get that scared,"_ Johnny chuckled.

"_You should have warned me that you were going to do that. I would never have let you if I knew,"_ stated Grandfather angrily.

"_But I was just trying to have some fun with Chet,"_ whined Johnny.

"_I know, but there are times when being seen by someone is useful, and then there are times when it scares the hell out of someone. That was one of those times."_

"_Is that why you never showed yourself to me?"_

"_Yes, I knew you would be frightened. But if the time had ever arisen that I needed to appear before you, I would have. But to do it just to have some fun can have unforeseen consequences. You really could have given Chet a heart attack."_

"_I…I'm sorry. I was just trying to have some fun, that's all. I won't do it again unless I have to. I'll tell you what, I'll make it up to Chet when I get back to the land of the living,"_ a contrite Johnny said.

"_That's good. But just remember, even though you may not see me I will be there for you. Maybe I will even pop in so that you can see me too, now that you know that I am around,"_ Grandfather smiled.

"_I'd like that. I sure have missed you these last few years. It has been quite a long time since I've been able to talk to you. I'll feel a lot better knowing that you are around too,"_ Johnny said perking up a bit.

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

Around 3:00 in the morning the tones sounded. STATION 51, STATION 8, ENGINE 17, BATALLION 14, WAREHOUSE FIRE INVOLVING CHEMICALS, 12879 NORTH HAVEN, 1-2-8-7-9 NORTH HAVEN, CROSS STREET HAMPTON, TIME OUT 0247.

Johnny and Grandfather were talking in the kitchen when they felt themselves fading. _"Here we go,"_ exclaimed Grandfather.

"Station 51, 10-4, KMG365," responded a sleepy Captain, and then went and handed a copy of the address to Roy and then hopped into the engine. Both vehicles quickly started on their way.

Fifteen minutes later they arrived on scene. Cap ran over to the Battalion Chief who quickly explained the situation.

"According to the owner of this place, there are 55-gallon drums of chemicals stored in the middle of the building. Because he rents this place out, he's not sure what they are though. I need your men to go inside and keep those containers cool until the fire is brought under control. "

"Is the fire anywhere near them?" asked an anxious Cap.

"No, but the heat is building up in there. Were ventilating it now but we need to water them down so that they don't explode from pressure build up. We've already had a few minor explosions, we don't want any more. I already have a call in for a third alarm, so more men will be here shortly."

Cap nodded his understanding and ran back to his men. "Marco, Chet, Roy, Brice, grab two and a halves and go inside. We got 55-gallon drum containers of unknown chemicals that need to be kept cooled off so that they don't explode. Also, wear your air masks. Mike, keep that water running Pal. We don't know what we got in there. I don't want anything to happen. "

"Right Cap!" the men acknowledge.

The men grabbed their gear and hoses and went inside with Cap following close behind. When they got inside, the smoke was making things very difficult to see and the heat was building quickly, making the men sweat as soon as they walked in the door.

Johnny and Grandfather appeared just as the men had entered. Looking around, Johnny saw that the guys were heading toward a large deposit of 55-gallon drums. He watched as they started to hose down the containers. Even though he wasn't truly there, Johnny could feel the heat that was building up in the warehouse. Chet and Marco, with Chet at the lead, were hosing down one section of the containers. Roy and Brice, with Roy at the lead, were a few feet away, hosing down another section. Cap was in between both groups trying to find better ways of dealing with the situation.

"Battalion 14, Engine 51, there are too many barrels in here for us to handle. We're going to need more help to keep them cool," Cap yelled into the HT. "Battalion 14, 10-4," the HT crackled back at Cap.

"Spread out some more and see if you can spray down more of the barrels," yelled Cap to his men. "Just don't get too close, we don't know what's in these things!"

When Johnny heard that, he quickly ran up to the barrels. Looking over the first few barrels, Johnny could not see anything that would tell him what was inside the containers. However, he did notice that one of the containers was leaking its contents and when the water hit it, a reaction started to occur.

'_This thing is going to blow!' he thought to himself. 'I've got to do something.'_

He turned to face the rest of the crew. Knowing that time was limited, Johnny concentrated and allowed him self to appear before the crew. _"They're gonna explode! Get out of here NOW!"_ Johnny shouted loudly.

Cap and the crew turned to see Johnny waving his hands frantically and yelling at them to leave. Just as the warning started to register, the leaking container exploded pushing the other containers away from the force of the blast into the guys.

Everyone went flying from the force of the blast and the containers. Johnny quickly ran over to the crew and started evaluating them for injuries. He was relieved to find them all alive, but unfortunately they were injured. Not having anyway to take care of them with, Johnny did the next best thing and disappeared.

Mike was still outside managing the engine when he heard the explosion. He started running over to the building, when Johnny appeared right in front of him. Mike skidded to a stop and stared in disbelief.

"_Mike quick. There's been an explosion and the guys are hurt. Shut down the water, it's mixing with the chemicals causing a reaction. You got to get some help!"_ Johnny yelled.

Mike just stood there. _"MIKE. MOVE IT!"_ yelled Johnny again. This time it registered with Mike what Johnny was telling him. He quickly ran back to the engine and shut the system down. He then ran to the cab of the engine and grabbed the mic.

"Battalion 14, Engine 51. We've had an explosion in the building, water/chemical reaction. Code I, possible 5 times," Mike calmly yelled into the mic.

"Battalion 14, understood. Help is on the way," replied the Chief.

Mike quickly threw the mic down and ran over to the squad to pull out the necessary equipment. "Hey Johnny, what do we need?" he asked. But looking around he noticed Johnny was no longer there. Grabbing the gear and putting on a tank and air mask, he ran into the warehouse. Looking around he saw Johnny waving him over to where the guys were lying.

"_Quick Mike! Chet's got a busted right leg; Roy's got a broken left arm and a concussion. Marco and Cap also have concussions. Brice is a bit shaken, but he seems to be okay."_ Johnny yelled as Mike ran up.

"Right Johnny!" Mike said as he started to help Brice up.

Brice looked at Johnny than back at Mike. "Did I hit my head? I see Gage standing over there."

"I see him too. Don't ask me how though. Come on we got work to do," Mike stated as he started checking out Cap. When he looked up to find Johnny again, he was gone.

Just then the other firefighters started to come in and helped with the rest of the crew. Mike and Brice filled in the other paramedics on the conditions of the others, quickly and safely evacuating them from the burning building.

Grandfather walked up to Johnny. _"You did really good Johnny."_

"_How can you say that? They're hurt."_

"_Yes, but they are alive. That's what counts. You may not have saved them from being injured, but you did save their lives. You knew that the chemical was reacting with the water, so you had Mike shut down the engine. If anymore water had mixed with the chemical, there would have been more trouble than what you see here."_

"_But why be a protector if you can't protect someone from being hurt?"_ Johnny asked with a puzzled expression.

"_The role of the Protector is not to save someone from injury, it is to save lives, and sometimes even that is not possible. Injuries will happen and they are meant to happen. Look at your case. I could have saved you from being injured, but how would you have been able to help your friends then?" _Grandfather asked with a sly smile.

"_So what you're telling me is that I am still going to get injured even though you are helping me? I guess I better make sure_ _my insurance premiums are paid up,"_ chuckled Johnny.

"_Come son, your job is done. It's time to go back. Oh, and keep an eye on that Phantom. I think he's got a couple of doozies waiting for you when you are better,"_ Grandfather winked with a smile.

"_Thanks for everything, Grandfather. I know I'll feel better knowing that you are around,"_ Johnny smiled.

Then they both disappeared.

51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51

Johnny felt the blackness around him more than he saw it. It seemed heavy, trying to hold him down. He looked around and saw pinprick of light. Cautiously, he felt himself float over to it. As he got closer, the light grew and he started to hear strange, muffled sounds. He listened carefully to what he was hearing. It was a beeping noise. It was very steady. It was also very annoying. It was at that time he realized that his head hurt and that the beep was making it worse. "Turn that thing down will you?" he said out loud. He then felt a pair of hands on his arm.

"Mr. Gage. Can you hear me? Mr. Gage?" a soft voice spoke.

Managing to pry open one eye, he carefully looked around. His eyes finally found the face of the person that spoke to him. As his eye began to focus, he realized that it was a beautiful nurse who was standing over him. Using the rest of his strength, he managed to open the other eye.

"Mr. Gage, are you really awake?" the beautiful lady asked.

Johnny tried to say something, but the dryness of his throat caused only a croak to come out. The lady left his vision and then returned with a glass of water in her hands. "Here drink some of this, slowly," she stated. Once he was finished, she turned and put the glass back down. "How do you feel, Mr. Gage?" she asked again.

"Hurts," was all he managed to say.

"Don't worry. Let me get Dr. Early and he'll be right in to see you. Maybe he can give you something for the pain." She quickly left the room. Johnny let the blackness envelope him again.

Johnny wasn't certain, but he thought he heard someone call his name. Looking around, all he saw was the blackness once again. "Johnny?" There it was again. He did hear his name being called. The blackness turned to gray, and then the light seemed to be shining before him making his eyes hurt. He tried to bat away the light. "Come on Johnny, wake up," the voice said again. He managed to open his eyes once again, but this time, instead of the beautiful nurse, his eyes focused onto the face of a man. Johnny wanted to close his eyes again, when he felt someone softly shake him and call his name again. With a little more alertness, Johnny realized that the man shaking him was Dr. Early.

"Come on Johnny, time to wake up," Dr. Early coaxed.

"Don't wanna," Johnny slurred trying to go back to sleep.

"Oh no you don't. I've been waiting quite a while to see those beautiful brown eyes again. So open them," ordered Dixie. At Dixie's prodding, Johnny finally did wake up. Looking around, he focused on Dixie's face.

"That's much better," Dixie complimented. "Now see that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Remind me to have you wake me up like that sometime," Joe jokingly said to Dixie. She went to slap him on the shoulder then she heard Johnny groan.

"How are you feeling Johnny," Dr. Early questioned his patient?

"Hurts," Johnny stated again.

"I'm not surprised. Do you know where you are?" Joe asked trying to access his patient's condition.

"Hospital?"

"That's right, Rampart. Do you know what day it is?"

Johnny tried to focus his mind to answer the question. "Thursday. How did I get here?"

"You were in an accident. What's the last thing you remember?"

Johnny looked around trying to figure out how he got there. "Remember a warehouse fire."

"That's right. Go on," encouraged Joe.

"Chemicals…water…explosion! Guys hurt, had to help!"

Dixie looked questionably at Joe, shrugging her shoulders.

"What else do you remember?" Joe asked.

"Chet broke leg…Roy hurt his arm and head…Cap and Marco hurt too…concussions. Brice okay," Johnny stated thinking hard about what he remembered. "Mike helped. Are…are they here…okay?"

"Johnny, the rest of the crew are fine, they're at work right now. None of them are here. You were hurt at a warehouse fire, but you had a wall fall on top of you. You've been here since yesterday morning and in a coma," Joe tried to explain.

"No…guys hurt. Had to help them. How are they?" Johnny questioned again, breathing harder as he tried to sit up.

"Just take it easy Johnny. They're fine," Joe said pushing Johnny back down. Turning to Dixie, "Dix let's get another EEG done and see what's going on. It's normal to be confused when coming out of coma, but this is not what I expected at all. Let's just do a double check."

"Right Joe," Dixie said and went to call in the orders.

"Just take it easy Johnny. I'll let the guys know that you are awake, and have Roy come and see you, okay?" Joe asked trying to calm Johnny down.

"No, find out about guys." He tried to sit up again, but found that any energy he had was gone and laid back down and fell asleep again.

"All set Joe," Dixie stated as she reentered the room. She stopped and looked at Johnny while he slept. "Boy he was really adamant about the guys wasn't he?"

"Like I said, confusion is normal after waking up from a coma, but he seemed to be quite a bit out of it," Joe stated.

They both stopped to listen as they heard their names paged over the P.A. system. "Dr. Early, Ms. McCall…Emergency STAT. Dr. Early, Ms. McCall…Emergency STAT."

"They're playing our song. Let's go," Joe said jokingly as they left Johnny's room.

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Joe and Dixie exited the elevator and headed for the nurses station where they met up Dr. Brackett and Dr. Mike Morton, who had just started his shift.

"What do we got Kel," Joe asked knowing it was going to be big to have all of them there.

"We had a chemical explosion at a warehouse. Four firemen were injured and their ETA is about three minutes," explained Dr. Brackett. "So much for going home on time for once."

"Kel, who was hurt," Dixie asked as a chill ran down her spine.

"51's. One has a broken leg, another has an injured arm and a concussion, and the other two also have concussions."

Dixie and Joe stared at each other in disbelief. "Joe…" Dixie trailed off.

"I know Dix. It's not possible," he stated as uncertainty cross over his face.

"What's not possible?" questioned Dr. Morton.

"Well, your not going to believe this, but Johnny just woke up a few minutes ago.

"That's great, isn't it?" Morton asked.

"Yeah it is but when Joe asked Johnny to describe the last thing that he could remember. He told us that he was at a warehouse fire where Chet Kelly broke his leg, Roy hurt his arm and has a concussion, and Marco Lopez and Captain Stanley also have concussions," Dixie told the two doctors.

"I think that just describe what we have coming in," agreed Dr. Early.

"But how could Johnny know something like that when he just awoke from a coma," asked Mike.

"That's something that we'll have to ask Johnny later," stated Dr. Brackett as the Emergency door swung open. "Right now we have work to do."

The three doctors and Dixie went into action as the four firemen were brought in, keeping the conversation that they just had in the back of their minds.

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Cap, Marco, and Chet were finally settled into a room about two hours later. With most of the station out of commission, the station was stood down. Mike and Brice stopped by to check up on the guys. The thoughts of everyone in the room were focused on what had happened earlier at the warehouse. None of the guys were quite ready to talk about it.

Mike wasn't quite sure what to make of the incident at the warehouse either so he had tried earlier to go and visit Johnny, but was told that another test was being performed at that time and that he would have to come back later. He was relieved to hear that Johnny had awakened and that he appeared to be doing well. The rest of the guys were also glad to hear that news as well. A few minutes later, Dr. Early wheeled Roy into the room so that he could take residence in the fourth bed.

"Hey Roy, what took you so long. Thought that they forgot about you down there," Chet heckled, feeling very little pain from his leg due to the medication that he was on.

"I had to wait for someone to leave the casting room. It appears that you were keeping them busy too," answered Roy. "How are the rest of you doing?"

"Let me get my hands on that guy that was storing that stuff in that warehouse, and I'll feel much better," answered Cap rubbing the very tender spot on his head. "I can't believe he was storing unmarked containers of chemicals in such a populated area like that."

"Don't worry cap, I don't think he'll be doing that anymore. The police already have him in custody," Mike filled in. "The least of the charges is attempted murder with a lethal weapon."

"Not to mention all the environmental hazard charges that he is facing. It looks like it is going to be quite a while until he gets out," added Brice.

"Well, just be thankful. It could have turned out a lot worse," Marco stated.

"Yeah, who would have thought that Johnny would save us like that," Chet answered dreamily. See I told you that I saw him scratching Henry back at the station."

"So it really wasn't my imagination? You guys really did see Johnny there too?" Cap asked looking at his men not really sure what to think yet.

"Not only did I see him, he told me about the chemical's reaction to the water. Had me shut the pumps off and told me to grab the equipment off of the squad because you guys were hurt," Mike said, relating his story to the rest of them. "Then when I got to the warehouse, he told me what your injuries were."

"Wow. Even when he is off duty his is still on duty," Marco commented.

"But that cannot possibly be, can it?" questioned Brice.

Still standing quietly at Roy's bedside, Dr. Early spoke up. "Not to interrupt your conversation gentlemen, but I thought that you would like to know that when Johnny woke up this evening, I ran the usual neurological tests. He knew what day it was even though he was injured yesterday. But when I got to the part of what he last remembered, he told Dixie and me about how he was at a warehouse fire. He specifically stated that you Chet broke your leg, that you Roy hurt your arm and head, and that you Captain and you Marco both had concussions too. He also told us that Brice was fine and that Mike came in to help."

"You sure this isn't an episode of the "Twilight Zone"?" I keep expecting to hear that music to start playing at anytime," Mike joked.

"This incident is quite disturbing. However, based on what has happened to us throughout the day, maybe Gage has been around helping us," Brice spoke up.

"Hey Brice, maybe it was Johnny who rearrange the drug box," Roy commented trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey yeah. It must have been Gage that was setting me up all day," Chet exclaimed trying to sit up in his bed. "I mean, look at everything that's been going on, the saltshaker, the handprints on the engine, the water bomb going off in Cap's face. It had to be him. He was trying to get you guys to put the blame on me."

"What are you saying, Chet? That Johnny out Phantomed the Phantom?" Roy asked chuckling.

"Yeah but in this case, Johnny really was a Phantom. Chet's just a wannabe," Marco laughed.

"Oh very funny Marco. Ha ha ha," Chet said, pride wounded. "Just you wait. I'll get even with him somehow."

"How can you get even with him when he was technically in the hospital at the time," Mike questioned.

"Don't bother me with those types of details, Mike. It's the principle of the thing. He got me, the Phantom must retaliate."

"Just be sure that those retaliations are nowhere near me or you will not only have latrine duty for the rest of your stay at 51's but also for the rest of your career," Cap warned menacingly. "By the way Doc, how is John anyway?"

"Well the last EEG showed normal brain activity," the Doctor stated happily.

"What do you classify as normal as far as Gage is concerned," quipped Chet.

"Be nice Chet. He did save our lives tonight," defended Marco.

Although he'll be out of commission for awhile, he should make a full recovery," the Doctor continued. "In fact, at the rate he is going, we should be able to move him to a regular room in a couple of days. I just want to keep him upstairs in ICU just to make sure everything is going to be okay."

"Would it be alright to stop in and see him before I go, Doc?" Mike asked hopefully.

"Well normally I would say no, but I think this time I will let it slide, seeing what you guys have been through tonight. Just keep it brief though."

Mike, Brice, and Dr. Early all said goodnight to the rest of the guys. Mike headed upstairs to ICU. The nurse spotted Mike and waved him in. "Dr. Early said that you would be coming up. Johnny's in here." She led Mike to Johnny's room and quietly left as he entered.

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Johnny stirred when he heard Mike approach the bed. "Hey Mike. Good to see ya," Johnny yawned.

"Hope I didn't wake you," Mike asked concerned.

"Nope. Actually I was hoping one of you would make it up here tonight. Although I will admit, I was kinda expecting Roy. He is okay isn't he? I mean not only him but Cap, Chet, and Marco too? I kinda had this weird dream that they were hurt tonight at a warehouse fire…" Johnny stopped when he noticed the strange look on Mike's face. "Hey Mike. What's going on? Everyone's okay, right?"

"The guys are okay, Johnny. Thanks to you."

Johnny cocked his head as he waited for Mike to continue.

"Johnny, you really didn't have a dream about the guys getting hurt. I…I think that you were really there. The guys told me about how you appeared out of nowhere and yelled at them to get out because you knew that the chemicals were reacting to the water. Then after the explosion, you came out and had me shut the pumps down and bring in the gear after calling for help. And when I got into the warehouse, you told me what was wrong with each of the guys."

"You mean Chet really did break his leg, Roy hurt his arm and has a concussion…"

"And Cap and Marco also have concussions. All that happened, just like you remember it…just like you were there," Mike finished.

Johnny laid back in his bed, blowing out a whistle. "It really did happen? I was really there?"

"Yeah Johnny. You were really there."

"And the rest of the stuff about Chet?" Johnny asked. The water bomb on Cap, Marco and the salt shaker, me appearing before Chet in the dorm, and the handprints on th…"

"Yeah. Handprints on the engine too," Mike said with annoyance in his voice.

"Uh, about that Mike. It was just a little joke. I never even thought I could do something like that. I mean…" Johnny babbled.

"Don't worry. I'll let it slide, this time. But do it again, and I'll kick your butt," Mike said with a smile on his face.

"Deal," Johnny said relaxing back into bed, eyes starting to get heavy.

"Oh, by the way. You might want to let Roy know about the drug box. Brice yelled at him again at the warehouse, because it was not in alphabetical order. Poor Roy didn't even know what was going on when Brice let into him."

"Yeah I guess I do owe Roy an apology for that one. Oh, and I guess I owe the rest of the guys apologies for the things that I did to them. My only consolation is that I was being taught what to do and that was the easiest way to learn."

"Well next time, and there better never be a next time, just take it easy on Chet. I've never seen him so scared as when he ran out of that dorm and into Caps arms," Mike started laughing hard. "Oh and you better watch out. The Phantom wants his revenge. He didn't like being out Phantomed."

"Oh, I think the Phantom just better watch out. If I remember correctly, I now have an ally on my side that can help defeat the Phantom and his pranks," Johnny stated confidently.

"Well whoever it is you have helping, just warn me will ya? I don't want to get stuck in the middle again," Mike pleaded.

"You got it," Johnny stated yawning once again.

"I better get out of here. Cap and Marco might be here tomorrow to see you before they go. Roy too. Chet might need a few more days. He's on some pretty good medication right now," Mike laughed. I'll be in to see you as soon as I can."

"Thanks Mike. And thanks for telling me about tonight."

"I should be the one thanking you. You're the one that saved the guys lives tonight."

"Glad to do it. Would do it again if possible," Johnny replied eyes really starting to close.

"Good night, Johnny," Mike said as he left.

"Night, Mike."

Just after Mike left and just before sleep finally took him, Johnny heard a noise in his room. Looking around, he found his Grandfather sitting in the chair beside his bed smiling at him. Johnny smiled back and laid his head back down. "Thanks Grandfather, for everything," he said as he fell asleep.

"You're welcome, and good job Johnny," Grandfather said as he slowly vanished.

The End!


End file.
